Matte-producing furnace.



No. 830,039. PATENTED SEPT. 4, 1906. R. BAGGALEY.

MATTE PRODUCING FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 30. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET -1.

WITNESSES THE mmms PETER: ca., WAsHlNOTou. a c,

No. 830,639. PATENTED SEPT. 4, 1906.

R. BAGGALBY.

MATTE PRODUGING FURNACE.

PPPPPPPPPPPPP LED JUNE 30, 1904.

III III Q INVENTQR UNITE STATES PATENT @FFICE.

MATTE-PRODUCING FURNACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 4, 1906.

Application filed June 30, 1904. Serial No. 214,750.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH BAGGALEY, of Pittsburg, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Matte-Producin Furnace, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a furnace embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-section on line II II of Fig. 1.

The purpose of my invention is to provide a furnace for the production of copper matte. It may be used for the practice of the process which is described in an application filed by me conjointly with Charles M. Allen on March 17, 1904, Serial No. 198,593; but its use is not limited to that process.

In the process of the said application copper or copper matte is produced from ores without water concentration and calcination and without carbonaceous fuel or with only a small percentage of such fuel by forming a bathof molten low-grade matte in the hearth of a furnace or converter, blowing air thereinto through twyers, adding silicious ore to serve as a flux for the oxidized iron of the bath and as a source of metal values, and replenishing the bath from time to time with fresh additions of matte.

My invention provides for the water-jacketing and adjustment of the sla -outlet, so that the opening can be enlarger when the slag is thick and viscid and requires to be skimmed from the bath, and as the level of the bath varies the slag-spout can be raised or lowered correspondingly.

In the drawin s, 2 is the furnace-chamber, in which the molten charge is contained. 3 is the contracted throat, which is preferably made variable in width by providing one or more sliding water-cooled sections 4, which may be moved by lever mechanism 4 inwardly or outwardly through a space in the furnace-top, and thus enable the effective width of the throat to be adjusted as required. 5 5 are the charging-openings, and 6 is the stack. The walls of the chamber 2 are preferably inclined, and the chamberis much wider at the bottom portion than at the throat.

7 7 are the twyers, having heads 21 at their outer ends for the insertion of bars and blast plugs.

8 is the metal tap-hole, and 9 is the slagdischarge.

The furnace-walls are preferably made of thick metal blocks set side by side in close contact with each other. Such blocks because of their mass will not be injured by the molten charge of the furnace and will not abstract the heat therefrom or impair the successful conduct of the process, as would be apt to occur if the furnace were made with thin water-j acketed walls.

If desired, the blocks may have in close proximity to their outer face small coolingchannels 10 (shown in Figs. 1 and 2) for the flow of cooling streams of water, or if a less cooling effect is wished air may be forced through them by a blower or allowed to flow by simple draft. They abstract the heat on the outside of the blocks without substantially chilling the furnace charge.

11 is a bottling device for the ta -hole, which enables the flow of the hotliquic matte to be checked very quickly. It has an arm 12, provided with a cup 13, adapted to hold a plug of clay or like material and may be swung by a hand-wheel 14 to bring the plug quickly against the tap-hole, where it is held by a locking-lever 15.

In the ordinary furnace practice dollies are used, with which the matte tap-hole is usually plugged by hand; but I have found by experience that with a deep body of fiery or corrosive matte constantly in the furnace, producing a heavy pressure, the furnace is liable to run away, or, in other words, the matte, either when tapped or before being tapped, is apt to burst out and to get beyond the control of the operator, and thus to empty or partially empty the furnace, and eventually to uncover the converting-twyers.. In such an event the furnace must either be immediately replenished with a fresh charge of molten matte sufficient to cover the converting-twyers and to restore the internal heats through the oxidation of the combustible elements or the furnace must be immediately emptied; otherwise the remaining matte now below the level of the converting-twyers will chill and solidify in a solid block inside of the furnace, which would necessitate taking down the walls to make it possible to remove it. All this is avoided by my bott ing device above described.

In order that the slag-tap may be adjusted to any degree of opening and may be raised or lowered in height to suit the level of the liquid charge in the furnace, I constitute it of vertically-sliding sections 16 17, the lower one of which may carry the slag-spout. They are actuated by powerful mechanism consisting of racks 18 and pinions 19, by means of which they can be separated to afford a wide opening for the insertion of a rabblingtool, and the lower section may be raised or lowered independently to suit the varying level of the bath. In order to make it possible to raise or to lower these movable pieces that constitute the adjustable slagspout, they are water-jacketed, notwithstanding the evil eifect that this tends to have upon the molten contents of the furnace. My reasons are that the two ieces constitute such a small proportion of t e total area of the furnace-wall that they cannot materially chill the molten bath, and the water-jackets serve to prevent the skull or internal lining of chilled slag or matte on their interior from forming a bond with them. This admits of their being raised or lowered by the powerful mechanism above described.

The slag overflow may either be left open for a continuous discharge of the slag as rap- 5 idly as it is formed or the hole may be plugged with clay or other refractory material. In this event the slag-outlet may be considered and treated as a tap-hole. I prefer the latter, inasmuch as the action of the converting-twyers has the effect of discharging matte through the overflow into the forehearth unnecessarily.

The molten matte supplied to the furnace for conversion may be introduced by a spout 20 through the slag-opening.

I claim 1. In a furnace for producing copper matte or copper, a plurality of adjustable wall-sections, and a slag-spout carried by one of said sections; substantially as described.

2. In a furnace for producing copper matte or copper, a plurality of adjustable watercooled wall-sections, and a slag-spout carried by one of said sections; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

RALPH BAGGALEY.

Witnesses J. O. WoLFRoM, W. D. KYLE. 

